Room 232

Room 232 is a composition for SSAATTBB choir and prepared xylophone & bass drum. Using items like aluminum foil, salt, broken glass, etc I explore many timbres that can be achieved by preparing the xylophone. At particular points in Room 232, the timbres of the xylophone and the timbres of the voices align. The work tells the story of a comatose patient who begins to slip into a deeper level of unconsciousness. As their condition worsens, they are extracted further away from a physical reality. This steady decline of health and detachment from reality is represented by unique timbrel shifts that occur with the voices and percussion. Timbral manipulations evolve and grow more distorted over time, pulling the texture of the ensemble further and further away from a conventional sound. These timbral effects are symbolic of the confusion that overwhelms the comatose patient as their state of unconsciousness sinks into a haze. Voices from a mysterious source begin to seep into the patient’s unconscious mind.